The answer is yes! So another way to explore a particular place in a budget friendly manner is being willing to give up two hours of your time. Two hours for a free weekend of lodging? Yes please. We had been contacted by a timeshare company about coming to stay in one of their hotels. Since it had been YEARS since we had either one been to New Orleans, we decided it would be a fun long weekend adventure. Now, I know what you may be thinking� Those timeshare places will pull you in� they will talk longer than 2 hours� they do this or that� And that may be true. So DECIDE for YOU what your answers are going to be. Are you open to a timeshare? Then go and listen with an open mind. If that is not something you are interested in, know that your answer is NO, thank you and repeat it as often as needed. Remember the people working are earning a living too. You commit to 2 hours. If they go over, kindly excuse yourself and leave. While I wouldn�t recommend this as an option often, it was actually quite a cool experience for us. So� back to NOLA. We had signed up for a virtual race with Heroes for Recovery- a great organization focused on people in recovery. We decided to run the race which was supposed to be a 6K, in New Orleans and we made it into a half marathon. Of course we did the MUST DO�s of this engaging city - Cafe DuMonde, live jazz and tasty flares at Marigny Brasserie.
And yes, I forgot I was vegan for a few hours with all the samples they handed out of pralines. Actually, we may still be twitching� What is it with us and free samples? No complaints here! So, the afternoon before our run, we were speaking with a native Orleanian who told us about City Park. He said tourists don�t know about this park for the most part, but it is a treasure to the people of New Orleans because to many, it is a more true representation of their beloved city; far more than Beale Street. The morning of our run/hike/bike, as we walked to the park, we stumbled upon The Bean Gallery, which definitely got our vote for best local coffee shop!
City Park is 1300 acres of serene beauty. The trees kept me in awe. The quaint surroundings provided an ambience of peace. The trail is paved and you can walk, run or even rent bikes. We thought this version would be easier, as we had decided, just for fun, to do the last few miles of our half marathon, riding a bike. IT IS NOT.
Our time at City Park ended with a picnic and partner yoga which included lots of bloopers and loads of laughs.
